Duane Hanson, Self Portrait with Model, 1979. Polyvinyl chloride, coloured with oil, mixed-technique and accessories, Lifesize. Collection of Duane Hanson Estate
“Forty Years/Forty Stories celebrates those memorable moments that have made the Ulrich Museum an epicenter of modern and contemporary art in this region,” said Bob Workman, Director of the Ulrich Museum of Art.
Wichita, Kansas (PRWEB) April 02, 2014
The Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University celebrates its fortieth anniversary year with the exhibition Forty Years/Forty Stories, opening April 26 and remaining on view through August 3, 2014. From photographs by Kansas native Gordon Parks and Polaroids by pop artist Andy Warhol to a life-sized self-portrait by sculptor Duane Hanson, the exhibition will display a behind-the-scenes look at the people, stories and art objects that have shaped the museum’s history.
“The opening of the Ulrich Museum on December 7, 1974 launched a new era for the students, faculty and staff of Wichita State University, and the greater Wichita community to access art of our time,” said Ulrich Director Bob Workman, who curated the exhibition. Forty years later the Ulrich has amassed a collection of more than 6,300 art works ranging from late 19th century paintings to multi-media art produced within the past few years, and a renowned 76-piece outdoor sculpture collection.
Workman began his museum career as a curatorial assistant at the Ulrich in the late 1970s under founding director Dr. Martin H. Bush. He went on to work in museums across the country, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, before returning to the Ulrich to take directorship in 2013.
His experiences as a student meeting artist visionaries like Louise Nevelson, known for her monumental outdoor sculptures and trademark false eyelashes, and assisting with the unveiling of Wichita’s masterpiece of public art by Joan Miró, Personnages Oiseaux (Bird People), 1978, make Workman not just a professional expert on the museum’s history, but also give a personal touch to his curatorial task in Forty Years/Forty Stories.
Workman’s professional relationship with Dr. Bush also serves as a platform to introduce the exhibition’s keynote talk with Bush on May 1 at the WSU Campus Activities Center. Dr. Bush will recount highlights of his twenty-year tenure at the Ulrich, including his friendship with Edwin A. Ulrich of Hyde Park, N.Y., the museum’s first major benefactor, Bush’s successful pursuit of Miró to create Personnages Oiseaux (Bird People) and how he came to bring dozens of international art world celebrities to campus.
Workman explains that the forty stories in the exhibition were selected for what they tell us today about the Ulrich as an embodiment of Wichita State and of Wichita as a community. “Forty Years/Forty Stories celebrates those memorable moments that have made the museum an epicenter of modern and contemporary art in this region,” he says. “I hope many visitors remember these stories as fondly and vividly as I do.”
SUPPORTING PROGRAMS & EVENTS:
All events are free and open to the public unless noted otherwise. Learn more at ulrich.wichita.edu/events.
Forty Years/Forty Stories is generously supported by Mickey Armstrong; Joan Beren; Dr. Sam and Jacque Kouri; Richard D. Smith and Sondra M. Langel; and the Fidelity Foundation. Additional supporters include Louise Beren; Norma Greever; Sonia Greteman and Chris Brunner; Eleanor and George Lucas; Jane C. McHugh; Dee and Mike Michaelis; Lee and Ron Starkel; Wichita State University; and the City of Wichita.
About the Ulrich Museum of Art
Located on the campus of Wichita State University, the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art is home to the renowned 76-piece Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection–––rated one of the top collections of its kind by Public Art Review–––and a permanent collection of more than 6,300 works of modern and contemporary art. Established in 1974, the Ulrich Museum seeks to expand human experience through encounters with the art of our time. To learn more about the dynamic public programs, events and exhibitions at the Ulrich, visit http://www.ulrich.wichita.edu and follow the Ulrich on Facebook and Twitter. The galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m.–5 p.m., and weekends 11–5 p.m. The Outdoor Sculpture Collection is always open. Admission, parking, and group tours are free.
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