Matching those things sounds like a recipe for disaster. But for the Figge Art Museum, it could pay big dividends, particularly as a way to combat the perception that the institution is elitist.
This summer, in conjunction with its Artists Advisory Council (AAC), the Figge will host sculptures made from refuse and assembled by local artists with assistance from high-school classes.
The exhibit, often referred to as the "trash show" but formally known as Mississippi Palette, represents a new direction for the AAC and a sign that the Figge has opened its arms to the community.
The AAC was created in 2003 by former Figge/Davenport Museum of Art Director Linda Downs in response to complaints that the organization had shown little interest in the ideas or the work of local artists. Mississippi Palette will be a very public refutation of that criticism, with the sculptures in and near the museum. For the Figge, the exhibit shows that the institution is serious about community involvement.
But there are critical lines that must not be crossed, between supporting the local artistic community and pandering to it, and between presenting local art appropriately in the context of contemporary art and claiming that it merits being hung alongside Grant Wood.
That's the challenge that the AAC faces now, and even though this year's exhibits show a newfound aggressiveness, the organization's leaders are aware that they have a responsibility to both the museum and local artists.
"It's about integrity for everybody," said Mark Fowler, who is one of the lead artists for Mississippi Palette and has been a participant in the AAC for the past year and a half.
Two Philosophies
For Bill Wohlford, the current chair of the AAC, there's a simple reason the AAC should promote the work of local artists at the Figge: "There's not that big a difference" between the skill and sophistication of local art and the contemporary work that the Figge has in its permanent collection and traveling exhibitions.
That statement is bold and argumentative, all the more because Wohlford follows Leslie Bell as chair of the AAC. Bell, chair of the art department at St. Ambrose University, is fundamentally protective of the Figge, probably at the expense of local artists.
"The Figge is a museum," Bell said. "It's not an art center." That distinction might be a sore point for some people. The Figge's name was originally the Figge Arts Center, and Downs lobbied to have it changed to better reflect the facility's mission - particularly to maintain and expand its permanent collection.
The museum is charged with the preservation of "the quality of the culture," Bell said. "We've only got one Figge. This is supposed to represent the best of our culture."
In Bell's three years as chair of the AAC, the group curated one exhibit: 41º/90º, an unconventional landscape show in 2005 that included only one local artist: St. Ambrose Art Professor Kristin Quinn.
That serves as an illustration of the difference between the organization under founding chair Bell and today under Wohlford. While Bell was primarily concerned with ensuring that the AAC's activities reflected well on the Figge, Wohlford believes the museum ought to be a platform to showcase local artists, as a goal in itself and as a way to boost attendance at and interest in the Figge.
"We've always represented two extremes at the AAC," Bell said. Wohlford is "more of a populist ... small-D democratic."
Wohlford's doctrine will be in strong evidence in the coming months, as the AAC works on an ambitious 2007 agenda:
- On Wednesday, January 10, the AAC will lead a community discussion at Quad City Arts about Figge programming.
- The AAC organized a show of local artists at the Scott County Library branch in Eldridge, with the exhibit's opening reception this weekend. The artwork is spread throughout the library, but on Monday, there were no signs or fliers showing the AAC's involvement or discussing its mission.
- In March, the group will unveil Follow the Horses, a juried show at the Figge showcasing local artists in a horse-related companion to the Deborah Butterfield exhibit.
- And this summer, Mississippi Palette will give the community a sense of what the Figge can be as a collaborative partner, as the AAC, the museum, Living Lands & Waters, and the Waste Commission of Scott County work together on the project.
Wohlford's approach looks particularly dramatic considering how much of the AAC's activity under Bell was behind the scenes, putting the organization together. "A lot of the work that was done had to do with structure," Bell said. "I just didn't want to go rampaging into too many projects." In his three years as AAC chair, Bell said, "we got a lot of that maiden-voyage crap out of the way."
Bell said he also wanted to "make sure we [the AAC] were representing the museum's best interests."
You
might expect that Bell, with his emphasis on process and insistence
on maintaining high artistic standards for the Figge, would be
critical of this year's AAC projects. He said he has concerns about
them, but in the sense that a parent is concerned for his or her
child - more cautious than critical. "I'm concerned about
everything the Figge does," he said. "I'm concerned about
anything the AAC does."
Still, "I'm very optimistic about what the AAC will do under Bill's command," Bell said.
He noted that the Mississippi Palette project and its use of refuse draw on a legitimate artistic tradition. "It's a genre that has a delightful history," he said.
And, Bell added, "I don't see them [the differing visions for the AAC] necessarily as being adversarial."
Fundamentally, Bell and Wohlford are after the same thing: getting more people to appreciate art. There is a philosophical divide, in the sense that Bell believes that local artists shouldn't feel entitled to exhibit at the Figge, and that few have works that merit that honor.
Wohlford, on the other hand, is a proponent of making the Figge less stuffy, and is getting support from the museum's administration. Interim Director "Tom Gildehaus wants the museum to be a place where people go to have fun," Wohlford said. "He wants to do things that will bring people there."
The Importance of Context
Lest you think Wohlford and Gildehaus want to turn the Figge into a circus, the AAC has been vigilant about providing appropriate contexts for local arts. One sculpture from Mississippi Palette might be housed in the Figge's lobby, but the rest will be outdoors on Figge property, or in LeClaire Park.
And Follow the Horses is an exhibit juried by representatives of three organizations - the museum, MidCoast Fine Arts, and Quad City Arts - with artists from within 150 miles of the Quad Cities eligible for the show's 12 spots. Aside from the unlikely composition of the jury - MidCoast and Quad City Arts have had at best an uneasy relationship - the structure of the selection process allays any concerns about nepotism; nobody from the AAC will be choosing the artwork.
In other words, local artists won't be exhibited in the same space as the permanent collection or the traveling exhibitions. And AAC members won't be choosing their friends for shows.
That's evidence that the AAC can accomplish both Wohlford's aim of increased exposure for local artists and Bell's goal of maintaining the Figge's artistic standards as an art museum. The key is careful, thoughtful stewardship of the organization's mission, with the interests of both local artists and the Figge given equal weight.
Mississippi Palette is particularly brilliant in that way, because it places all but one of the eight or nine sculptures outside of the museum building proper.
There's a gentle humor about that title, too. In our interview, Wohlford said that "there is a Midwestern art. In my mind, that's what people will go to the Figge to see." Certainly, "Mississippi palette" directly references middle America. The joke is that the palette is, in this case, garbage.
Mississippi Palette is also an exemplary collaboration, bringing together the museum, artists, students, environmentalism, the dynamic energy of Chad Pregracke's Living Lands & Waters organization, and the Waste Commission of Scott County.
The involvement of that many participants ensures public interest, simply through the accumulation of family and friends. As Bell said, "The AAC will be a whole lot better known to the public" after its activities over the next several seasons. "What you need is a means of connection," said Steve Sinner, an AAC participant.
The large number of collaborators is, in part, borne of necessity. Because the AAC is not incorporated as an organization, it can't apply for grants. So its leaders sought out funding partners but ran into the problem of possible collaborators balking at the potential diversion of grant funds; groups fretted that money secured for Mississippi Palette would result in lower grant funding for their own programs.
Eventually the AAC joined with the Waste Commission of Scott County, which is contributing $25,000 to the project. Each lead artist will receive $2,000 plus expenses. Wohlford said the AAC also plans to produce a CD with lesson plans for the project, with the idea of involving students outside of art classes.
Jeanne O'Melia plans to use refrigerator doors, water heaters, sheets of recycled rubber, and bed springs to create a windmill of sorts. She has been incorporating trash into her artwork since 1991, she said.
O'Melia is an example of an artist who wouldn't be involved in the AAC except for Mississippi Palette. She's part of the Eldridge show but doesn't envision becoming active in the organization. "I don't see myself getting involved with the AAC with both feet," she said.
Still, she sees a mutually beneficial relationship between the Figge and local artists: "We can benefit each other."
And she subscribes to Wohlford's view about local art on the walls of the museum. "I think we have some really topnotch artists in the area, and their work should be exhibited," she said.
Fowler is working with his cousin and Moline High School students to create a "wave" out of driftwood, and he's shooting for a work that's at least 25 feet tall. "It won't be dwarfed by the building," he said.
Mississippi Palette, he said, is "a great way to support the Figge from the outside."
Like Bell, Fowler said he's been vocal about any project or decision that might undermine either the Figge or the AAC. "We can't have anything that we don't feel strongly [positive] about," he said. Speaking specifically about Mississippi Palette, he added, "Otherwise it can go back on the trash pile."
Upcoming AAC Activities
January 10 Figge Brainstorming Session. Meeting for local artists, educators, and the public at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Quad City Arts. Organizers are asking participants to "bring up ideas about programs you'd like to see happen in your arts community." The AAC will facilitate the meeting.
You Don't Have to Leave Town - to See Great Art exhibit at the Scott County Library Eldridge Branch. The show, expected to feature roughly 20 local artists, runs through March at 200 North Sixth Avenue, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 13, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Follow the Horses. Juried show of horse-related art by artists within 150 miles of the Quad Cities. The exhibit will run from March 3 to May 27, and applications are being accepted through January 22. For more information, contact Jodean Rousey Murdock at (fatdogs2@hotmail.com) or (309) 737-8910.
Mississippi Palette. The refuse sculptures will be constructed on school properties this spring and will be shown in and near the Figge in summer 2007. A kickoff event is scheduled for March 23.
