THE UNIVERSITY ART COLLECTION AT SACRAMENTO STATE:
MAKING A PUBLIC COLLECTION AVAILABLE
A Project
Presented to the Departments of Art and History
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Special Major
(Art Administration)
by
Jennifer J. Grossfeld
FALL
2013
THE UNIVERSITY ART COLLECTION AT SACRAMENTO STATE:
MAKING A PUBLIC COLLECTION AVAILABLE
A Project
by
Jennifer J. Grossfeld
Approved by:
_________________________________, Sponsor
Elaine O’Brien, Ph.D.
_________________________________, Committee Member
Pattaratorn Chiropravati, Ph.D.
_________________________________, Committee Member
Chris Castaneda, Ph.D.
_________________
Date
ii
Student: Jennifer J. Grossfeld
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be
awarded for the project.
_____________________________, Dean
Chevelle Newsome, Ph.D.
________________________
Date
Office of Graduate Studies
iii
Abstract
of
THE UNIVERSITY ART COLLECTION AT SACRAMENTO STATE:
MAKING A PUBLIC COLLECTION AVAILABLE
by
Jennifer J. Grossfeld
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Universities are treasure troves of knowledge. From the vast halls of teaching to the
academic hub in the library, there is an abundance of resources. California State
University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) has other treasured resources, treasures of
collections of visual and material culture. However, some of these collections have been
left deep in dark closets, barely noticed for over twenty years, and all of these collections
need to be updated to a common digital registration system and collectively managed in a
professional manner to be an academic resource for students, professors, scholars and the
public. This project focuses on the art collection, which includes over four hundred
works collected by Art Department professors since the 1960s. It includes works on paper
(drawings, prints and photographs), ceramics, paintings and sculpture. There are works
by regional artists with national and international historical significance, including
students, alumni, professors, and famous artists. This collection is too valuable to be
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neglected and not professionally maintained as a resource for the university and the
greater Sacramento region.
SOURCES OF DATA
I began initial research and investigation by locating and comparing previous art
collection inventories. Three prior art collection inventories were found: a 1992
inventory, including addendums for the years 1992 through 1997; a 2003 ceramics
inventory; and a 2006 special project inventory. However, it was not clear if the
inventories had been verified by physically documenting the actual works. Additionally,
the collections were spread throughout various locations on campus, with some
collections being unavailable for viewing. Taking a physical inventory around the
campus and noting visible artwork, I developed a notebook as a starting point. The
inventory notebook includes: the Art Department collection; the former School of the
Arts collection (now part of the College of Arts & Letters); outdoor art/sculptures; the
College of Continuing Education collection; Alumni Center artworks; art and visual
culture located throughout the library; and art on view in the University Union. In
September, 2013, Zenia LaPorte, University Union Assistant Director of Program and
Marketing, provided a current inventory of their collection, including their works in
storage.
I conducted my research by reviewing documentation from the past; interviewing
present university faculty, students, alumni, and staff; and reviewing oral history tapes
located in Special Collections. From this information, Sacramento State faculty
recognized the need for more organization and authority in securing the collections on
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campus. A collections advisory committee was formed in June, 2012 with campus and
community art and collection management professionals. I was asked to be a member
and to serve the committee’s objectives through research. The collections advisory
committee includes: Elaine O’Brien, Professor of Modern & Contemporary Art &
Theory; Professor Phil Hitchcock, Director of the University Library Gallery; Professor
Terri Castaneda, Director of the University Anthropology Museum; Sheila O’Neill,
Head, University Library Department of Special Collections and University Archives;
Graduate students Nancy Wylie and myself. Additionally, community art professionals:
Diana Daniels, Crocker Art Museum; and Beth Jones and Lynda Jolley, owners of the
Jay-Jay Gallery, Sacramento, added professional support and advice. Professor Dan
Frye, former Art Department Chair; Professor Catherine Turrill, current Art Department
Chair, Nancy Tooker, emeritus Associate Dean of the School of the Arts; Leslie Rivers,
Assistant to the Director of the University Library Gallery; and Kevin Ptak, Art
Department instructional assistant, all made essential contributions. The purpose of this
collections advisory committee is to devise a plan for this ongoing project of securing,
managing, and developing the entire permanent collection of Sacramento State at the
industry-level standard for public collections. The committee continues to meet, research
and review industry standards for university collections to formulate a policy and a
management plan for the permanent collections at Sacramento State.
My research for this master’s project has supported the needs of the collections
advisory committee and helped shape policy and management plans. It includes: a
comparison study of CSU galleries and museums (Appendix E); review of insurance
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standards for fine arts; a comparison of campus collection managerial positions; review
of comparable university collection policies and procedures; recommendation of
anticipated supplies for stewardship program start-up (Appendix G); and review of
industry-standard museum forms in collections management. This research was utilized
in the drafting of the Sacramento State University Permanent Art Collection Management
Plan (Appendix H), the Sacramento State University Art Collection Management
Proposal (Appendix I), and the proposed Sacramento State Interim ARTS Collection
Management Policy (Appendix J).
Additionally, co-curating the exhibition, Lost & Found: Selections from the
Sacramento State Art Collection in the Robert Else Gallery of Kadema Hall in
August/September, 2012, opened up a major part of the collection to us and provided me
with the opportunity to research, review, document and further study the collection of the
Art Department and the former School of the Arts. A panel discussion regarding the
history of the collection was held on September 13, 2012 in conjunction with this
exhibition. Art Department Chair Dan Frye (Chair 2007 – 2013) and five former Art
Department chairs: Emeriti Professors Irving Marcus (Chair 1966 – 1970), Allan Gordon
(Chair 1970 – 1976, 1985 – 1988), and Lita Whitesel (Chair 1991 – 1995); and
Professors Phil Hitchcock (Chair 1976 – 1985) and Catherine Turrill (Chair 2001 – 2007,
2013 – present) discussed their involvement with the history and the development of the
Art Department collection. Also in conjunction with the exhibition, Laurence Campling,
a documentary videographer, presented a guest lecture on September 20, 2012 about his
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video project on the Candy Store Gallery (1962 – 1992) in Folsom, California, which is a
key part of the history of art held in the university art collection.
CONCLUSIONS REACHED
As of this date and at the request and with the support of Ed Inch, Dean of the
College of Arts & Letters, progress has been made in regards to the professional
management of the university art collection. The Art Department collection and the
collection from the former School of the Arts have been moved from their various storage
locations into a temporary storage facility and a pre-accession inventory has been
conducted. Using the Art Department Collection Inventory that I compiled in April, 2012
and updated in September, 2012 (Appendix B), I have been part of a three-person team
that has photographed, documented, secured and entered inventory data for each work
into the university art collection catalog. Condition reports have been conducted and
entered into the database for each piece as well. Additionally, I have created individual
hardcopy artist/artwork files which correlate with the database and the temporary
numbers assigned to each artwork.
This project relied upon my extensive research regarding collections management. I
had learned the professional art collection management methods and knew the best
reference books, which we kept at hand and consulted throughout. Integrating this
knowledge of correct procedures into the Sacramento State University Permanent Art
Collection Management Plan (Appendix H) and the Sacramento State University Art
Collection Management Proposal (Appendix I), which I wrote collaboratively with
members of the university collections advisory committee and then following the
viii
guidelines and recommendations set forth in these documents, we accomplished the
following: relocated the Art Department and the former School of the Arts collections to
a suitable storage/management facility; purchased and instituted FileMaker Pro5 software
with a collections management template for a collections digital database; conducted an
industry-level pre-accession inventory, including photographing, documenting, wrapping,
securing, numbering and labeling each artwork; and developed the proposed Sacramento
State Interim ARTS Collection Management Policy (Appendix J).
________________________, Sponsor
Elaine O’Brien, Ph.D.
________________________
Date
ix
DEDICATION
To my husband, Ken Grossfeld.
You inspired me with your daily wit and intellect and encouraged me with your
friendship, companionship and most importantly, your endless love. Even as you battled
your terminal diagnosis, you always told me that you wanted to live long enough to see
me graduate.
I wish you had.
x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Deciding to go back to school as an adult student, with a busy family, takes
encouragement and support on so many levels. My three boys quickly learned what it
meant when I was studying at my desk - it meant mom was not available. Thank you
Brett, Zachary and Trenton for letting me study and being my cheerleaders all the times
that I needed you to be. Their dad had been my biggest advocate and willingly joined my
journey with enthusiasm. The sign that he made for my desk still sits there: “No talk
(very busy).” Their encouragement and love was all that I needed to continue to pursue
this journey and especially when it looked like that journey was over, to stay with it.
When life threw me the curve ball that I had not anticipated, I was gifted with a
graduate advisor that kept me going. Dr. Elaine O’Brien has the wisdom, integrity and
perseverance to tackle any obstacle even when that obstacle at times was me. She never
stopped believing that I was on the right path by encouraging, mentoring, challenging and
then spearheading the project on a campus level. Her wisdom, intellect and friendship
have been a gift to me and I have been blessed by her guidance and support. Thank you
to Dr. Pat Chirapravati for her years of scholarly and personal advice, and to Dr. Terri
Castaneda and Sheila O’Neill for their professional insight, guidance and humor into
collections management. And to my collegiate friends Nancy Wylie and Jennifer Boling,
who inspired me and provided directional avenues to help lead the way.
To my amazingly supportive friends, my mom and dad, my sister’s Betsi and Kim,
and the rest of my family that always told me that I could finish this path that I had
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started. Thank you for never tiring of my many stories, embellished and all, and
encouraging me to continue and finish my studies...just because.
xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication………………………………………………………………………………... x
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………....……....…xi
List of Tables……………………………………………………………….……...…….xv
List of Figures……………………………………………………………….…......…...xvi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….……………...……..1
2. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY……………………….…………………...….….4
History of the Sacramento State Art Department………………….……….…….4
Art Collection Inventories…………………………………………...…….....…..9
Lost & Found: Selections from the Sacramento State Art Collection.……….…14
3. DEVELOPING A PLAN, A PROPOSAL AND A POLICY.………………….……35
Advisory Committee……………………………………………….....…………35
Collections Management Plan…………………………………………….....….37
Collections Management Proposal………………………………………….…..38
Interim ARTS Collection Management Policy…………………………...…….38
4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………….…41
xiii
Appendix A. ART John Fitzgibbon’s Narrative………………..………….……….…44
Appendix B. Art Department Collection 2012 Inventory……….…………………….69
Appendix C. Missing Artworks………………………………………..…….….…….74
Appendix D. Exhibition Guestbook Comments………………………….…..…...…...75
Appendix E. Comparison Study of CSU Museums & Galleries..……………..……...79
Appendix F.
UC Davis Art Collections Storage Facility……………………………..80
Appendix G. Anticipated Supplies Needed for Initial Start-up..……………..….........83
Appendix H. Art Collection Management Plan…………………..…………………..86
Appendix I.
Art Collection Management Proposal……….……..……………....…...92
Appendix J.
Proposed Interim Collection Management Policy….……………….…101
Bibliography……………………..…………………………………………………….119
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
1.
Page
Sampling of art in the Sacramento State art collection ……………….………8
xv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures
Page
1.
Ed Rivera, La Cultura, 1978……………………………………………………...7
2.
Ed Rivera, Detail of La Cultura, 1978………………………………….………...7
3.
Postcard from Lost & Found show (front side)……………………..…………..14
4.
Postcard from Lost & Found show (back side)…………………………..……..15
5.
Robert Arneson, 1303 Alice St., 1967…………………...………….…..….……16
6.
Robert Arneson, Texas Saddle, 1960……………………...……….…..….….....16
7.
Clayton Bailey, Nose Lamp, 1968…………………………..………….………17
8.
Victor Cicansky, Shirt, 1968…………………..………………………….…….17
9.
Fred Dalkey, Untitled, 1967………………………………….…..…….……….18
10.
Fred Dalkey, Untitled, 1968…………………………………………….………18
11.
Robert Else, Feather Beach II, 1980……………………………………….…...19
12.
Viola Frey, Crocker Series III, 1979…………………………..…….…….…....20
13.
Anne Gregory, The Horned God, 1967.…………………………………...……20
14.
Anne Gregory, A Wizard at the Dining Room Table, n.d……………….………21
15.
Ruth Horn, Boy Resting, n.d…………………………………………….………22
16.
Jun Kaneko, Sculpture #369, 1968…………………………………….………..22
17.
Irving Marcus, The Listeners, 1967………………………………….………….23
18.
Joan Moment, .Arc, 1963…………………...……………………….…………..24
19.
Jack Ogden, Forward, Forward, 1971……………………………….…………25
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20.
Jack Ogden, Proof III, 1967…………………………………………….........….26
21.
Nathan Oliveira, Homage to Carriere, 1963………………………..…….….....26
22.
Tarmo Pasto, Untitled, n.d……………………………………..………….……..27
23.
Pablo Picasso, Le Vieux Roi, 1959…………………………………..…….……27
24.
Ruth Rippon, The Judgment of Paris, 1970s………………………………...…..28
25.
Ruth Rippon, Untitled, n.d……………………………………………..…….…..28
26.
Paul Soldner, Raku Plate, n.d…………………………………………..……......29
27.
Paul Soldner, Raku Vase, n.d…………………………………………..………...29
28.
Frank Stella, Star of Persia II, 1967……………………………………..…....…30
29.
Carol Summers, Spring, 1967………………………………………..………......30
30.
James Hiroshi Suzuki, Japanese Export Light, 1998…………………..………..31
31.
Rufino Tamayo, Unknown, n.d………………….…………………………..…..31
32.
Andy Warhol, Cooking Pot, 1962……………………………………..………...32
33.
R.W. Witt, Unknown, n.d…………………………………………..……………32
xvii