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June-July 2005
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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The Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Arts Center opened its doors to the public earlier this month, with building and gallery tours and its first exhibit, Soft Openings. Opening week activities began on July 13 with a press preview day, and continued throughout the week with a special day for AU faculty, staff, and students; AU neighbors; and the general public. Each day, hundreds of curious community members got a peek inside the arts building they’ve been watching rise along Massachusetts Avenue for several years now. More than 100,000 cars drive by Ward Circle every day, and the site of the Katzen Arts Center is also one of the geographically highest points in Washington, said AU President Benjamin Ladner in his welcoming remarks to reporters on July 13. “Let’s remember, this is part of a university community, but also a gift to our nation’s capital.”
The new arts center was merely a concept when Ladner began his tenure as AU’s president 12 years ago. “But the university made a commitment,” he said, and a long list of trustees, alumni, and friends worked very hard to bring it to fruition. “Almost everywhere you look, something beckons, ‘come enjoy,’” he added with a smile and an outstretched arm inside the museum’s newly art-filled lower level gallery. “I think what I’m proudest of is this building invites… it wants you dancing, singing, sculpting, painting,” said Ladner. Naming donor Dr. Cyrus Katzen described he and his wife, Myrtle, as “very humble” about the entire project, to which they donated $20 million, plus an impressive art collection that includes pieces by Chagall, Lichtenstein, and Picasso. “The building speaks for itself. I’m proud of the building and the people; it was a team,” he said. “We’re very proud to be part of American University, and we hope everyone will enjoy it,” noted the real estate developer, former dentist, and Georgetown University alumnus. Neither of the Katzens graduated from AU, but Myrtle has taken a number of painting classes at AU over the years.
Museum Director Jack Rasmussen, an AU alumnus three times over (’75, ’83, ’94) offered tours of the gallery and explained - along with many of the actual artists - some of the pieces he chose for Soft Openings, which will run through September 17. The museum’s inaugural exhibition brings together contemporary art from 22 artists – many from the Washington-Baltimore area, though some from as far as California and Puerto Rico. Three of those artists – all painters - are AU alumni: Washington, D.C. resident Kristin Holder, CAS/MFA ’99 (pictured below), Puerto Rican resident and professor of art Jaime Romano, CAS/MA ’69, and West Virginia resident Ben L. Summerford, CAS/MA ’54, also an art professor emeritus, having taught at AU from 1950 to 1987.
In addition to viewing the art spread through the 30,000 feet of gallery space amongst three floors, newcomers also had the chance to explore the entire 130,000-square-foot building – from the grand staircase leading to the second and third-floor rotunda galleries facing Ward Circle – to the 200-seat theatre recently named for Arts Campaign Chair Gary Abramson amid the building’s center, to a student lounge named for the Class of 2005 at the far end adjacent to AU’s Glover Gate entrance, and the many classrooms, studios, and faculty offices in between. In addition to choosing the eclectic array of art for the Katzen Museum, curator and director Rasmussen has also created a “blog” – or Web log for the technologically uninitiated – for art lovers and those curious about the museum to see the latest installations from the comfort of their office chair. http://art_at_thekatzen.typepad.com The blog includes small images of the art on display within the museum, and news and notes from Rasmussen. It is expected to become an open forum for discussion on the arts in general, on the type of arts institution and programming needed in the area, and more specifically about the Katzen Museum and its exhibitions. Rassmussen said he hopes the blog will become a place for AU faculty and students to contribute to the arts center by expressing their thoughts, questions, and reflections. The building's grand opening will be held October 20, and alumni tours and several special events will be held during Alumni Weekend, October 21-23, 2005, for those unable to get a sneak peek at the new center between now and September 17 when Soft Openings will close. For more information, visit: http://www.american.edu/katzen Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Thursdays noon to 5 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays noon to 7 p.m. Admission is free. -Melissa Reichley Read more about the Katzen at: http://veracity.univpubs.american.edu/summerweb/051805_katzen.html and http://veracity.univpubs.american.edu/071105_katzensoftopen.html | ||
Katzen Arts Center Opens to Curious Crowds, Praise
One of the pieces the Katzens donated that's already on display is Iknhaten, a 3,000-pound sculpture of swirling bronze installed on the plaza overlooking Ward Circle. Cast in Spain by California-based Fred Eversley, who began his career in Washington and has been an artist in residence at the
Smithsonian, the shiny circular tri-disc piece measures more than 6' around. 
Holder was one of nearly a dozen artists on hand to describe her thinking in creating her grand nude-colored sponge-like looking painting, “Qi” painted directly onto the second-floor gallery’s wall. She painted the expanding pentagonal shapes within shapes in batches each day, she explained, always trying to mix the same pale color, but
ending up with varying shades depending on what time of day she was there, how much sunlight was coming in through the window, and so on.