1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
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.
Museums, galleries and related facilities at universities and colleges have an intrinsic
cultural role on campuses and in communities. In a study looking at the history,
operations and offerings of 1,736 museums and other museum-like facilities located at
822 universities and colleges, published in America’s College Museums: Handbook &
Directory, academic museums, galleries and related facilities are described as: “informal
instruments of education with their exhibits and programs; curators and researchers of
artwork, specimens, and historical objects; and sources of enjoyment in the art, science,
2
history, and other fields. They are invaluable resources in instruction, research, and
public education.”1 Sacramento State has several interdisciplinary art collections
throughout the campus; including artwork on view in the University Union, the College
of Continuing Education, the Department of Special Collections and University Archives,
the University Library, and the Anthropology Museum. This project, however, has
primarily dealt with the art collections from the Art Department and the former School of
the Arts (now part of the College of Arts & Letters).
The Art Department collection includes works which were purchased for pedagogical
purposes through sales of student and faculty artworks in order to purchase limited
edition prints by Pablo Picasso, Frank Stella, Rufino Tamayo, and Andy Warhol. Also
included are artworks by many noted Sacramento State faculty-artists, including Robert
Else, Tarmo Pasto, Ruth Rippon, Irving Marcus, Gerald Wahlburg, José Montoya and
R.W. Witt.
The art collection represents the art history at Sacramento State. Since the 1960s,
when collecting began, the Art Department has received widespread recognition for being
at the forefront of contemporary art. In a 1994 master’s thesis project, “The California
State University, Sacramento Permanent Art Collection,” Camille T. Kondratieff and
Susan M. Sinclair noted: “Because of their serious commitment to their artistic
professions and to their students, these faculty have influenced many well-known art
alumni and made remarkable contributions towards establishing CSUS as a leading
Victor J. Danilov, America’s College Museums Handbook & Directory (New York: Grey House
Publishing, 2011), vii.
1
3
school in the Contemporary Arts…It is imperative, therefore, that the CSUS art collection
reflects current artistic directions and innovations through new acquisitions and
donations.”2
A decade after the Kondratieff and Sinclair study, the mission of the university art
collection has expanded to meet the needs of the 21st century: “to align with a core value
of American higher education: the creation and dissemination of new knowledge and
skills. With increasing frequency, that new knowledge isn’t limited to art and art history;
these museums can bring tools of visual investigation, knowledge curation, and cultural
analysis to bear on a wide variety of domains. Many campus museums strive to
demonstrate their commitment to interdisciplinary research questions and modes of
inquiry, to innovative pedagogical approaches, and to global perspectives.”3
This collection is too valuable to be neglected and not professionally maintained as
a resource for the university and the greater Sacramento region.
Camille T. Kondratieff and Susan M. Sinclair, “Selected Works: The California State University,
Sacramento Permanent Art Collection” (master’s thesis, Sacramento State, Sacramento, California, 1994),
2.
3
Will Anderson and others, Campus Art Museums in the 21st Century: A Conversation, report prepared by
the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago: 5-6, accessed February 4, 2013,
http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu.
2
4
Chapter 2
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
History of the Sacramento State Art Department
The Art Department collection and the former School of the Arts collection have been
collected by Art professors since the 1960s. Noted in the Kondratieff and Sinclair study:
“Over the years the CSUS campus has received widespread recognition for being at the
forefront of the Contemporary Arts. This is due in part to the success of the Art
Department in attracting a wide range of outstanding faculty-artists. Due to their serious
commitment to their artistic professions and to their students, these [sic] faculty have
influenced a long list of known art alumnae and made remarkable contributions towards
establishing CSUS as a leading school in the Contemporary Arts.”4 Significant to the Art
Department collection, is the Art Department itself.
The Sacramento State College was founded in 1947, with fewer than two-hundred
students and was located on the campus of Sacramento Junior College where the Art
Department was located in a leaky, chilly barn. According to a 1986 interview with
former Art Department Chair Robert “Bob” Else (Chair 1958 - 1964), rats would eat their
materials on the weekends.5 In 1952, the school moved to its current location; however,
by 1956, the Art Department, with four full-time professors, was still in temporary
buildings on the south side of campus. In 1960, Sacramento State College became part
4
Kondratieff and Sinclair, Selected Works, v.
Bob Else, interview by George Craft, May 29, 1986, Tape TC219, CSUS 40 th Anniversary Faculty Oral
History Project, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Sacramento State,
Sacramento, California.
5
5
of the CSU System, officially becoming CSU, Sacramento in 1972. From the early
‘sixties to the late ‘seventies, there was a large growth in the Art Department, which
eventually reached thirty/thirty-one full-time professors, according to Else.6
Referring to this time period in the Art Department as a golden age of creativity,
Emeritus Professor John Fitzgibbon described the attitude and environment which was
inspiring faculty and students in his “ART (John Fitzgibbon’s Narrative) c. 1980”
(Appendix A): “And when it comes to figuring out how a welter-weight University in a
minor-league city came to possess, for a time, an art staff the equal of any school’s
anywhere, then it really will have to be understood that there exists an inverse ratio
between an art department’s “respectability” and those crucial qualities and attitudes
which permit a department to enjoy the art world’s respect. Late in the 60’s at
Sacramento State a dean and a department chairman took a chance. They reached out to
the Bay Area, to Southern California, to Chicago, and even to New York and they hired
some really, truly art celebrities with paint on their shoes and a painting or two in a
museum or three.”7 These faculty-artists were well known in their disciplines and
proved to be outstanding mentors, influencing many students, as noted in the Sampling of
art in the Sacramento State collection from faculty-artists and students, past and present
(Table 1).
It is important to note here that many artworks belonging to the university are not
included in the Art Department or the former School of the Arts collections. An
6
Else, interview.
Else’s recollection of thirty/thirty-one professors is correct, including lecturers.
7
John Fitzgibbons, “ART (John Fitzgibbon’s Narrative) c. 1980,” (unpublished narrative, 1980),
Sacramento State, Sacramento, California. In author’s collection, see Appendix A.
6
outstanding example is Ed Rivera’s La Cultura (Figure 1 and Figure 2). La Cultura is a
ninety-six-foot wide by twenty-four-foot tall mural on the exterior wall of the
administration building, Lassen Hall. It depicts the community’s American IndianSpanish heritage, and features major symbols of the Mexican culture.8 Originally painted
in 1970 on panels on the exterior wall of Lassen Hall, the mural was a component in the
mural project with the Barrio Art Program, which had been established in 1970 by
Emeritus Professor José Montoya.9 In 1976, the artist received word that the panels had
been torn down during a beautification project.10 Having been created as a tribute to the
Mexican culture and given to the community as a symbol of solidarity, peace and culture,
it had taken months of negotiations and fundraising. After widespread coverage, a public
protest and a public apology from then Sacramento State President James Bond
(President 1972 – 1978), arrangements were made to have Rivera repaint the mural
directly to the wall. In 1978, Rivera painted the current mural with permanent, waterbased acrylics, returning in 1998 to do restoration work and paint a protective finish over
the work. He further protected this work by placing the condition that it cannot be
removed until fifty years after his death.11
Lance Armstrong, “Sacramento Resident Ed Rivera Discusses his Lifelong Passion for Art,” August 29,
2010, accessed October 30, 2013, http://www.valcomnews.com/?p=1285.
9
Vanessa Garibaldi, “Barrio Art Program and Community Help Center,” The State Hornet, (Sacramento
State, Sacramento, California) posted September 16, 2009, accessed November 19, 2013,
http://www.statehornet.com/barrio-art-program-and-community-help-center/article_6fe823b3-fdf5-51aaa85c-226c8fd535ed.html.
10
Armstrong, “Sacramento Resident Ed Rivera.”
11
Ibid.
8
7
The Art Department collection, along with the other collections on campus represents
this remarkable art history - a history that is unique to the region and significant for the
university.
(Figure 1)
Ed Rivera, La Cultura, 1978
Mural, Sacramento State, Lassen Hall
(Figure 2)
Detail of Figure 1 showing the Aztec ruler, Montezuma
Ed Rivera, La Cultura, 1978
Mural, Sacramento State, Lassen Hall
8
Table 1. Sampling of art in the Sacramento State art collection from faculty-artists and students, past and
present
ARTIST
Brady, Robert
Couzens, Julia
Driesbach, John
Else, Robert
MEDIUM
Ceramic
Charcoal
Painting
Acrylic Painting
Favela, Richard
Hitchcock, Phil
Jackson, Oliver
Kaltenbach, Steven
Kypridakis, Ben
Lark, Sylvia
Louie, Brenda
Marcus, Irving
Moment, Joan
Monteith, Tom
Montoya, Jose
Nutt, Jim
Ogden, Jack
Pasto, Tarmo
Rippon, Ruth
Ceramic
Mixed Media
Oil on Canvas
Ceramic
Ceramic
Monoprint
Oil/Acrylic on
Canvas
Lithograph
Painting
Acrylic on Canvas
RCAF Poster
Etching
Lithograph
Oil
Ceramic
Suzuki, Jimmi
Taylor, Yoshio
Thiebaud, Wayne
Vail, Roger
Oil on Canvas
Ceramic
Watercolor
Photography
VandenBerge, Peter
vonMeier, Kurt
Wahlberg, Gerald
Winkler, Maria
Witt, Robert
Ceramic
Print
Corten Steel
Pastel
Oil on Canvas
TITLE
Vase
Abstraction
Untitled
Beach #5 (Sea
Salad)
Black Trio
Untitled
Untitled
Cast Hands
Blue & White Vessel
Untitled
Reflections on
Things at Hand
Children’s Zoo
Atom
Roundabout
Calendario
Pitui
Proof III
Untitled
The Judgment of
Paris
Series of Four, #1
Untitled
Untitled
Truckee River
Reflection
House Poet
Sophie
Shankara
Tricks
Mendocino Coast
DATE
1980
2002
1968
1988
1980
1989
1970
1977
1968
1967
1970s
1952
1988
1996
9
Art Collection Inventories
During the 1992 Spring Semester, then Sacramento State President Donald Gerth
(1984 – 2003), requested an overall inventory of the permanent art collection. An
inventory was done at that time under the Art Department chairmanship of Lita Whitesel
(Chair 1991 – 1995). The artwork was documented, photographed, and stored in a
temporary building, located by the art sculpture lab on campus. Chair Whitesel
developed a secure collections repository with custom-made art racks for the paintings
and shelves for the ceramics and sculptures.12 In approximately 1999,13 Art Department
Chair John Driesbach (Chair 1995 – 2000) informed Professor Whitesel that the
temporary building that housed the collection was being demolished and that he had
already moved the artwork to various storage areas in Kadema Hall, including a closet
with a water heater.14 It remained in these storage areas until April, 2012.
The former School of the Arts collection was acquired for the school by Professor Phil
Hitchcock (Director School of the Arts 2004 - 2007). Working with William Sullivan,
Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences (1984 – 1998) and then Dean of the newly formed
College of the Arts & Letters (1998 – 2004), Professor Hitchcock collected only artwork
by Sacramento State affiliated artists, with the exception of one artist, William
12
Dr. Lita Whitesel, (Emeritus Professor, Sacramento State, Sacramento, California), interview by the
author, November 21, 2013.
13
According to research done by George Baines (Facilities Management, Sacramento State, Sacramento,
California), this is a best estimate as to time-frame. The database for maintenance records has been updated
and past contractor records are not on the current database. In discussion with the author, November 25,
2013.
14
Ibid., Whitesel.
10
Wareham.15 Wareham’s aluminum sculpture, Arequipa, is located in the breezeway of
the library. The artwork collected by Professor Hitchcock was to be displayed in and
around the university, particularly the library.16 With over one hundred works, this
collection includes objects with regional significance and historical value, including
works by Elmer Bischoff, Wayne Thiebaud, Joan Moment, Julia Couzens, Robert Brady,
Jim Nutt, Oliver Jackson and artists affiliated with the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF).
Approximately around 2008, due to changes in administration and constraints within the
physical spaces, Professor Hitchcock stopped collecting (with the exception of a donation
from the John Fitzgibbon’s estate), and began storing several pieces of the artwork which
had been displaced.17
In order to continue with this project, the artwork had to be located and then
documented. It was necessary to get a visual confirmation of each work, which proved to
be difficult given the various locations and the overall lack of stewardship and
information.
I began initial research by locating and comparing previous art collection inventories.
Three prior art collection inventories were found: a 1992 inventory requested by
President Gerth and completed by graduate students Camille Kondratieff and Susan
Sinclair; a 2003 ceramics inventory done as a Special Project with Professor Elaine
O’Brien by Christina Maradik; and a 2006 inventory done as a Special Project with
Professor Elaine O’Brien by Nancy Wylie, which compiled all of the previous
15
Phil Hitchcock (Director, Library University Gallery, Sacramento State, Sacramento, California), in
discussion with the author, September 6, 2012.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
11
inventories onto an excel spreadsheet for categorical reporting. 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; 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.
After the physical inventory was conducted, the next step was to locate documentation
regarding the art. My research with the Office of Risk Management uncovered potential
liability for the entire collection. Sacramento State is a self-insured institution, which
means that it will cover its own losses. Specifically, the property policy, by standard
agreement for all property policies, covers the building and all permanently attached
equipment. Hanging or stored works of art would not be covered under a property
policy.18 A fine arts rider is available for temporary borrowed exhibitions on campus.
According to Kirtland Stout, Risk Manager for the Office of Risk Management, “I have
never been asked to insure any of the collected works housed by the University or any of
its departments or colleges. Hence, I have no records of any kind that might reflect what
18
Kirtland Stout, (Risk Manager, Sacramento State, Sacramento, California), e-mail to the author, March
11, 2011.
12
we have on the campus.”19 Further adding, “There is no other policy covering our
collected art. Perhaps your efforts to catalog and assess value could spark the custodians
of the collected works to get some or all of them insured.”20
When an artwork is gifted or donated to the university, Sacramento State policy states
that it should flow through the University Development office.21 Necessary
documentation is required for tax purposes for both the donor and the university. Kevin
Gonzales, Administrator-in-Charge, Development/Director of Major and Planned Gifts
and Sue Garcia, Director of Advancement Services, both in the University Advancement,
Development Office indicated in a meeting about the art collection on September 25,
2013 that due to a physical move of their office, their files have been archived in more
than one location, and they were not certain where the paperwork regarding these
donations was located. Further research will be required to locate past donor records
regarding the art collection.
In March/April, 2012, the Art Department collection that had been stored in various
locations in Kadema Hall was moved to a reasonable temporary proper storage area at the
direction of Dan Frye, Chair of the Art Department. In April, 2012, I completed an Art
19
Kirtland Stout, (Risk Manager, Sacramento State, Sacramento, California), e-mail to the author, March
10, 2011.
20
Stout, e-mail to the author, March 11, 2011.
As a comparison, California State University, Chico has a fine arts insurance rider that is shared through
the California State University system. It includes: wall to wall coverage; individual item coverage (not
blanket coverage); and it is based on retail price if purchased or the professional appraised value at
donation. This is the same insurance rider that is used for temporary borrowed exhibition works.
Catherine Sullivan, (Curator, Janet Turner Print Museum, California State University, Chico), e-mail to the
author, September 5, 2013.
21
California State University, Sacramento, Office of University Advancement, Sacramento State
Development Policy, Gifts of Special Collections, 2009,
www.csus.edu/giving/PDF/2009DevelopmentPolicyManual.pdf, 14.
13
Department Collection inventory based on this collection in the temporary storage area,
updating it in September, 2012 (Appendix B).
After comparing the three previous inventories (1992, 2003 and 2006) with the current
inventory (2012), it became apparent that there were missing artworks. For this project, I
developed a Missing Artworks inventory (Appendix C) and distributed it to emeriti
professors, current professors, alumni and staff. Many of the pieces were identified and
added to the 2012 inventory.
With the support of Dean Inch, in September, 2013, I was hired, along with graduate
student Nancy Wylie and Leslie Rivers, Assistant to the Director of the University
Library Gallery, to conduct an industry-level pre-accession inventory on the art collection
in the temporary storage area. Adding the former School of the Arts collection to the Art
Department Collection Inventory that I had compiled in April, 2012 and updated in
September, 2012 (Appendix B), and utilizing my research into industry-level
archival/collection management supplies (Appendix G), we assigned temporary inventory
numbers to each artwork (until accession numbers can be determined in the future). We
photographed, documented, secured and entered each artwork on a university digital
database. The database is FileMaker Pro5 software with a collections management
template22 for a collections database. We conducted condition reports on 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. At the
22
The collections management template was purchased from Robyn Bernard, University of California,
Davis Collections Manager in September, 2013.
14
conclusion of this phase of the project, the database will be held with the Art Department
Chair, until a determination is made about the future of the project.
Lost & Found: Selections from the Sacramento State Art Collection
To bring attention to the art collection, its great value and its need for care, I worked
with Professor Elaine O’Brien to curate an exhibition of selected works from the
collection. The exhibition, titled Lost & Found: Selections from the Sacramento State
Art Collection, was on view at the Robert Else Gallery of Kadema Hall from August 28,
2012 to September 27, 2012. My contribution to the exhibition included the following:
collaborative selection of the artworks; research on the artists and the artworks; securing
insurance through the Office of Risk Management; writing didactic panels and labels;
executing a publicity plan; and mailing out postcards/invitations (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
(Figure 3)
Postcard from Lost & Found: Selections from the Sacramento State Art Collection (front side)
15
(Figure 4)
Postcard from Lost & Found: Selections from the Sacramento State Art Collection (back side)
Not only did the exhibition bring works out of storage and into the light for public
display, it also brought insight into more than a half a century of art history in the
Sacramento region. As a representation of the valued pieces in the collection, the exhibit
highlighted the high quality and brought attention to the need for stewardship and proper
documentation of the collection. “…We hope to secure this collection as a regional
legacy under the sustained care of the university…” (Didactic panel from exhibition,
written by Professor Elaine O’Brien).
Works to be exhibited were selected on the basis of their condition and historical
significance to the university. The exhibition included the following works:
16
(Figure 5)
Robert Arneson, 1303 Alice St., 1967
Ceramic (white earthenware with low-fire glaze) 15” Diameter
1303 Alice Street, which Arneson referred to as “a standard ‘ticky-tacky’ tract house,”
was his home in Davis from 1962 to 1976. (Text from exhibition label).23
(Figure 6)
Robert Arneson, Texas Saddle, 1960
Ceramic (white earthenware with low-fire glaze) 28” x 24” x 26”
Texas Saddle marks Arneson’s transition from the Abstract Expressionism of Peter
Voulkos to the figurative wit of his signature works. (Text from exhibition label).
23
Unless otherwise noted, the exhibition labels were written and edited by the author.
17
(Figure 7)
Clayton Bailey, Nose Lamp, 1968
Ceramic (white earthenware with low-fire glaze) 10 ½” x 6”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Nose Lamp was purchased from a show that Bailey had at CSU, Sacramento. A
working lamp was inserted to emphasize the humorous absurdity of his creation.
(Text from exhibition label).
(Figure 8)
Victor Cicansky, Shirt, 1968
Ceramic (white earthenware and fiberglass with low-fire glaze) 30” High
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Cicansky’s early California work dealt mostly with clothing imagery among which
he created approximately a dozen ceramic shirts, exhibited at the Candy Store
Gallery in Folsom. (Text from exhibition label).
18
(Figure 9)
Fred Dalkey, Untitled, 1967
Lithograph/Proof 14 ¾” x 11 1/8”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Dalkey had his first retrospective in 2002, at the Crocker Art Museum, where he once
worked as a security guard. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 10)
Fred Dalkey, Untitled, 1968
Print/Etching 7 ¼” x 9”
“Yes that is me in the etching. Fred did it shortly after we were married. It's a lovely
print, I think. Hans Hohlwein, the printmaking teacher Fred was doing his graduate
work with at the time, acquired it for the department.” – Victoria Dalkey, July,
2012. (Text from exhibition label).
19
(Figure 11)
Robert Else, Feather Beach II, 1980
Acrylic on canvas 38” x 44”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Else, an original member of the Sacramento State Art Department, inspired hundreds of
students to find their artistic “voices”. Professor of Art Emeritus, Else taught in the Art
Department from 1950 – 1979, serving as Chair when the Art Department moved to the
CSU campus in 1958.
“The arrangement of forms in Feather Beach II (1980) is dynamic and forceful, giving
the appearance of considerable movement and activity, as if the array of natural debris
was scattered in this locale by a recent storm: it displays a multitude of objects associated
with marine and avian life common to the West Coast.”
- Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition
label).
20
(Figure 12)
Viola Frey, Crocker Series III, 1979
Ceramic (earthenware with low-fire glaze) 20” Diameter
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
The Crocker Art Museum held a large retrospective of Frey’s works, including thirtyeight plates titled Crocker Series I, II, III in 1981. This platter was from the self-portrait
grouping of the exhibit, and represents the artist’s family and memories from childhood.
(Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 13)
Anne Gregory, The Horned God, 1967
Intaglio 1/15 9 ¾” x 12 1/8”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
“It has been said that I make romantic, sensual, decorative paintings and drawings. Sex
and pattern,...yes; but the concern for women’s strengths has also been a theme for 30
years.” – Anne Gregory, Artist Statement. (Text from exhibition label).
21
(Figure 14)
Anne Gregory, A Wizard at the Dining Room Table, n.d.
Intaglio AP 17 ¾” x 17”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
“I’ve long been interested in the painting as object. By adding the actual texture of found
objects to works, I bring the physical world and the need to grapple with it within my 2D
expression.” – Anne Gregory, Artist Statement. (Text from exhibition label).
_____________________________________________________________________________
No Image Available
Phil Hitchcock, Jr./Phil Hitchcock, Sr., Laundering Jane’s Shirt on Red Flower Type B Paper, 1974
Thermal Transfer
While assisting his son with an installation in 1974, Phil Hitchcock, Sr. dropped this
artwork, permanently scarring the paper. Phil Hitchcock, Jr. felt his father had just left
his own artistic mark on it, and had him sign the work as an additional artist, and installed
it, as is. (Text from exhibition label).
22
(Figure 15)
Ruth Horn, Boy Resting, n.d.
Woodcut Print 12” x 14 ½”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
______________________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 16)
Jun Kaneko, Sculpture #369, 1968
Ceramic (earthenware with glaze) 30” High
“Kaneko’s interest in optical phenomenon began in an early series of abstract threelegged knots…..In the knot series he exploits visual sensation through pattern repetition
and overlapping plane reversals.”
- Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition
label).
23
(Figure 17)
Irving Marcus, The Listeners, 1967
Lithograph 25” x 16 ½”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
1959 – 1991 Sacramento State Professor of Art, Department Chair 1966 – 1969
“Irving Marcus is known as an extraordinary artist whose vigorous and slightly satirical
compositions reveal underlying truths about the human condition. Hidden meanings and
the ambiguity of contemporary urban life are both disguised and reflected in the mirrors
that he paints of figures participating in daily activities.”
- Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition
label).
________________________________________________________________________
24
(Figure 18)
Joan Moment, Arc, 1963
Latex/acrylic/gesso/cheesecloth mounted on canvas 5’ x 8’
Joan Moment contributed to the Sacramento art scene and as a Professor of Art at
Sacramento State’s Art Department from 1973 through 2005.
“Over her thirty-plus-year career she has generated a body of work notable for its
consistency. It displays continual stylistic evolution, but it also evinces an enduring
reliance on the natural world as the formal source – not just the principal formal
source, but just about the only source – for her compositions.” - Peter Frank, “Joan
Moment: The Imprinted Paintings,” 2003. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
25
(Figure 19)
Jack Ogden, Forward, Forward, 1971
Watercolor 21 ½” x 17”
“Described as a “painter’s painter,” Jack Ogden has been creating compelling works for
over fifty years. His subject matter ranges from still-life arrangements and studio scenes
to portrait and figures. His work is informed by numerous sources, including Greek
mythology, current events, other artists’ work, and his own personal narrative, including
his naval experience. Recurring themes in his work, such as the artist and his muse, or
the artist as navigator in the artistic journey, add depth to his imagery.” – Sanchez Art
Center, 2011. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
26
(Figure 20)
Jack Ogden, Proof III, 1967
Lithograph 13” x 19 ½”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Ogden joined the Art Department at Sacramento State in 1966, continued his tenure for
thirty-four years, until 1999. Ogden has had over seventy solo shows since 1958 and
thirty-eight group shows, along with numerous honors and awards. (Text from exhibition
label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 21)
Nathan Oliveira, Homage to Carriere, 1963
Lithograph 2/10 22” x 30”
“It is easy to see how Oliveira found a kindred spirit in Carriere – given their similarities
of theme and approach in printmaking – and to understand why he honored him with a
series of prints…..Intending to portray the inner soul rather than the actual likeness of
Carriere, Oliveira’s Homage to Carriere depicts a spiritual, mystic apparition emerging
from an encompassing gloom.”- Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master
Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition label).
27
(Figure 22)
Tarmo Pasto, Untitled, n.d.
Oil on canvas 22” x 30”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
The art of the insane was of particular interest to Dr. Pasto, a psychologist and artist, who
would often use examples of it in his classroom lectures. Dr. Pasto’s work as an artist
was overshadowed by his explorations into the psychology of art.
As a founding faculty member of Sacramento State, Pasto joined the Art Department in
1948 and served as chair of the department until 1957 (?), retiring in 1973 after twentyfive years. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 23)
Pablo Picasso, Le Vieux Roi, 1959
Limited edition lithograph 26 ¼” x 20”
“Le Vieux Roi, created January 6, 1959, was derived from a Master’s portrait of Francois
le Premier (Francis I), King of France from 1515 – 1547. Painted by Jean Clouet ca.
1524, it now can be seen in the Louvre……In Le Vieux Roi, Picasso did what no portrait
artist could or would do in Francois day: he depicted the king in his vices.” - Camille
Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition label).
28
(Figure 24)
Ruth Rippon, The Judgment of Paris, 1970s (?)
Ceramic 16 ½” Diameter
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Depicting the legendary event that precipitated the Trojan War, Rippon’s The Judgment
of Paris echoes the aesthetics of this transitional period, as seen in its gracefully-incised
figures carved in bas-relief. This work embodies Rippon’s distinctive interpretation of
classical themes and forms in a contemporary fashion. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 25)
Ruth Rippon, Untitled, n.d.
Watercolor 20” x 15”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Figurative sculptor and potter and Emeritus art faculty, Ruth Rippon’s tenure lasted over
thirty years at Sacramento State, from 1957 to 1987.
Initially intending to study painting and sculpture, Rippon changed the focus of her
educational career after her first class in ceramics at the California College of Arts and
Crafts in Oakland. (Text from exhibition label).
29
(Figure 26)
Paul Soldner, Raku Plate, n.d.
Ceramic 14” Diameter
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
“Paul Soldner is responsible for establishing raku as a major artistic expression in
contemporary American ceramics. Through his discoveries and explorations into this
technique, he introduced American-style raku as a low-fire process that expanded the
aesthetic possibilities of ceramics.”
- Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis, 1994. (Text from exhibition
label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 27)
Paul Soldner, Raku Vase, n.d.
Ceramic 13” High
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
“To allow yourself to be playful, to be at ease with the asymmetrical is difficult but
necessary. Complete control is in conflict with the creative act, with personal, inventive
decision-making.”
- Garth Clark “American Ceramics: 1876 to the Present”, 1987. (Text from exhibition
label).
30
(Figure 28)
Frank Stella, Star of Persia II, 1967
Seven-color lithograph 84/92 16” x 20”
“The Star of Persia series was Stella’s first major lithographic print project created in
collaboration with Kenneth Tyler…….Star of Persia II is printed in cool tones on a silver
metallic base. The image in Star of Persia II is a six-chevron squared medallion shape,
most likely inspired by the square sails on nineteenth century clipper ships from which
Stella borrowed the title, Star of Persia. This reflects the artist’s fascination with history
and his extensive traveling.” - Camille Kondratieff/Susan Sinclair, CSUS Master Thesis,
1994. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 29)
Carol Summers, Spring, 1967
Lithograph 6/9 29” x 21 ¼”
“Landscapes are portraits of our mother earth, and sometimes, by extension, ourselves,
focusing on some mood or aspect that echoes our human condition, and sometimes again,
illuminates it.”
- Carol Summers “Woodcuts 1950-1988”, 1988. (Text from exhibition label).
31
(Figure 30)
James Hiroshi Suzuki, aka Jimmi Suzuki, Japanese Export Light, 1998
Mixed Media 46” x 20”
A retired emeritus faculty from Sacramento State, Suzuki taught in the Art Department
from 1976 to 1999.
Suzuki was born in Yokohama, Japan, first studying in Japan with Yoshio Markino and,
after arriving in the U.S. in the 1950s, at the Portland Maine School of Fine Arts and
Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. (Text from exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
(Figure 31)
Rufino Tamayo, Unknown (?), n.d.
Original lithograph large edition 25” x 20”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Tamayo is a major master of Mexican modernism. Tamayo’s legacy in the history of art
is truly found in Tamayo’s oeuvre of original graphic prints, in which Tamayo cultivated
every technique, producing graphic work between 1925 and 1991.
Purchased in 1940 by a New York art dealer for forty-dollars, this print was added to the
art department’s collection at some point; however, more information and research is
necessary in order to establish provenance. (Text from exhibition label).
32
(Figure 32)
Andy Warhol, Cooking Pot, 1962
Limited edition lithograph 6” x 8”
Cooking Pot was among one of the simplest and earliest works from Warhol’s photo-silkscreened series. With proceeds from the sale of prints donated by art faculty, the Art
Department was able to purchase this and other prints during the sixties. (Text from
exhibition label).
________________________________________________________________________
_______
(Figure 33)
R.W. Witt, Unknown (?), n.d.
Oil painting 26” x 40”
Photo from Sacramento State Art Collection Database, 2013. Photographed by Nancy Wylie.
Late professor of art emeritus, Raymond Witt was first a student at Sacramento State,
then a professor, and became chair of the Art Department from 1960 to 1972. Raymond
and Joyce Witt’s love of Sacramento State led them to endow the Raymond and Joyce
Witt Scholarship, given to outstanding art students annually. (Text from exhibition label).
33
Panel Discussion:
In conjunction with the Lost & Found exhibition, a panel
discussion regarding the history of collection was held on September 13, 2012. 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. Irving Marcus recalled that he and Ruth Rippon purchased art from traveling
art dealers at very affordable prices.24 Phil Hitchcock stated that, “We have something
that is a treasure that doesn’t have any supervision. It needs stability.”25 Lita Whitesel
added that there was a lack of control over the art, and there was not a collective memory
of art that was lent out to administrative offices. She concluded that appropriate space is
needed along with a curator and a grant to pay for framing and rotating exhibitions to
continue the practice of engaging, intriguing and challenging students by the works of
art.26
Guest Lecture:
Laurence Campling, a documentary videographer participated as a
guest lecturer on September 20, 2012, presenting his 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.
24
Panel discussion of Art Department Chairs, Lost & Found exhibition event, September 13, 2012,
California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California. From the author’s notes.
25
Ibid.
26
Ibid.
34
The Lost & Found exhibition, the panel discussion of Art Department former and
current chairs, and the lecture by the documentary videographer, as well as three
receptions, were very well attended, with positive feedback and comments. The majority
of the comments recorded in the exhibition gallery notebook recognized the need for and
encouraged the efforts to conserve and preserve the valuable art collection (Appendix D).
35
Chapter 3
DEVELOPING A PLAN, A PROPOSAL AND A POLICY
Advisory Committee
Sacramento State faculty recognized the need for more organization and authority in
securing the collections on campus and formed a collections advisory committee 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. This
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, then 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
36
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 collection
committee and helped shape policy and management plans. It includes a comparison
study of other CSU campuses (Appendix E) in order to align the collection management
practices of Sacramento State with those of other CSU campuses. Furthermore, along
with several members of the Sacramento State collection committee, I will be meeting
with Catherine Sullivan, Curator at the Janet Turner Print Museum at California State
University, Chico on December 6, 2013, to study the collection management practices on
the California State University, Chico campus. In addition, University of California,
Davis Collections Manager Robyn Bernhard opened their art collection storage facility to
us as another source for study and comparison (Appendix F)27 and continues to be a
resource as they prepare to move into a new museum facility.28 I also researched job
descriptions of campus collection managerial positions at comparable universities and
researched industry-level archival/collection management supplies (Appendix G) to help
formulate the Sacramento State proposed policy and management plan.
27
Photographed by the author during tour of the University of California, Davis art collection facility,
January 10, 2013.
28
University of California, Davis is expected to break ground in 2014 on the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti
Shrem Museum of Art. Included in the plans is a repository for the arts collection.
http://shremmuseum.ucdavis.edu/fine-arts-collection/index.html, accessed November 25, 2013.
37
Collections Management Plan
At the request of Ed Inch, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters, and Charles Gossett,
University Interim Provost, a Sacramento State University Permanent Art Collection
Management Plan (Appendix H, without original attachments) was submitted for
administrative consideration on October 22, 2012. With collaboration from all of the
committee members, a mission statement was written, as follows:
“Mission:
Beginning with the plan outlined here for that part of the university’s permanent
collection held by the Art Department and the School of the Arts, the overall mission of
the collection management plan is to secure, manage, and develop the entire permanent
collection of Sacramento State University at the level of university collection standards,
protecting it as a heritage and making it available for education, exhibition, research and
community service, especially visual-arts teaching and scholarship at every level through
original works of art. The Art Department and School of the Arts collections have been
created by Art department professors who have shared the same values and purposes for
over half a century. The artworks in both collections share the same consistently high
quality and regional focus and must be managed as one collection that represents the art
history of Greater Sacramento. Because of the wide-spread influence of art produced in
this region since the 1960s, local art history has national and international significance.”29
This plan charted the collection management process by phases, with the first phase
creating the position of a collection manager/registrar; relocating the Art Department and
the former School of Arts collections to a suitable permanent storage/management
facility; purchasing and supporting collection management software; and developing a
collection management policy.
Jennifer Grossfeld, Elaine O’Brien and Sheila O’Neill, Sacramento State University Permanent Art
Collection Management Plan, October 22, 2012, California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento,
California, 1.
29
38
Collections Management Proposal
Further clarification from Dean Inch in an effort to facilitate the collections
management project resulted in a second, revised proposal, submitted by the committee:
Sacramento State University Art Collection Management Proposal (Appendix I, without
original attachments, salary information redacted). The mission statement was refined to
read:
“Mission: to secure, manage, and develop, at the national standard of public collections,
the entire permanent collection of Sacramento State University, which includes works
held by the Art Department/School of the Arts (ARTS collection), the Anthropology
Museum, University Enterprises Incorporated, the University Library, artworks in
administrative buildings, and campus public art: sculptures and murals. Overall, the
university stewards thousands of valuable, unique objects worth millions of dollars,
almost all of them donated by artists and collectors who trusted the university to exhibit
and care for them properly and in perpetuity. Beginning with Phase 1 outlined below
for that part of the university’s collection held by the Art Department/School of the
Arts (ARTS collection) the aim is to protect Sacramento State’s finest possessions and
its most significant material heritage and make the objects available for community
service, outreach and public relations, exhibition, research, and education.”30
Interim ARTS Collection Management Policy
A collections management policy addresses various aspects of collection
management and defines the scope of the collection, how it will be cared for, how it will
be made available, and who will be responsible for the collection. It is written to meet
the specific needs of the collection. Policies, procedures and plans should support the
specific collection. As outlined in the Sacramento State University Permanent Art
Collection Management Plan (Appendix H), a component of the first phase of the
collection plan was to develop a collection management policy, stating:
Elaine O’Brien, Sacramento State University Art Collection Management Proposal, June 28, 2013,
California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, 2.
30
39
“The policy will be drawn from existing codes of ethics and professional standards
established by the American Association of Museums and used by comparable university
art museums and collections in the CSU system. (See examples from CSU Long Beach,
Attachment #5 and CSU Chico, Attachment #6). It will be collaboratively written by
Jennifer Grossfeld, Sheila O’Neill, and Elaine O’Brien with the advice of the Art
Collection Advisory Committee. Purpose: To establish a systematic framework to guide
the ongoing management of the University Art Collection, based upon the mission and
collecting scope of the collection.”31
For the Sacramento State Interim ARTS Collection Policy draft, I conducted research
regarding the existing code of ethics and professional standards established by the
American Association of Museums. The Sacramento State policy thus followed
principles generally accepted by the international museum community as outlined in the
International Council of Museums in the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. These
principles include:
“Museums preserve, interpret and promote the natural and cultural inheritance of
humanity.
Institutional standing
Physical resources
Financial resources
Personnel
Museums that maintain collections hold them in trust for the benefit of society and its
development.
Acquiring collections
Removing collections
Care of collections
Museums hold primary evidence for establishing and furthering knowledge.
Primary evidence
Museum collecting and research
Museums provide opportunities for the appreciation, understanding and management of
the natural and cultural heritage.
Display and exhibition
Other resources
Museums hold resources that provide opportunities for other public services and benefits.
Identification services
31
Grossfeld, O’Brien and O’Neill, 6-7.
40
Museums work in close collaborations with the communities from which their collections
originate as well as those they serve.
Origin of collections
Respect for communities served
Museums operate in a legal manner.
Legal framework
Museums operate in a professional manner.
Professional conduct
Conflicts of interest”32
Another significant aspect of the collection policy is incorporating already existing
Sacramento State policies into it. Specific policies that were reviewed and incorporated
include the Conflict of Interest Policy outlined in the Sacramento State Development
Policy Manual, specifically the guidelines for Special Collections, including the Special
Collections Proposal Form.
As of this date, a proposed Sacramento State Interim ARTS Collection Management
Policy has been drafted and presented to Dean Inch; however, it has yet to be instituted
and is still in the process of administrative review (Appendix J).
32
ICOM Code of Ethics,
http://network.icom.museum/fileadmin/user_upload/minisites/icom-us/PDF/code2006_eng.pdf, 2004.
41
Chapter 4
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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. I was awarded a
scholarship in April, 2013 to attend the American Law Institute/Continuing Legal
Education Legal Issues in Museum Administration conference33 where I gained further
knowledge in collections management and museum topics at professional industry
33
Scholarship was awarded by the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) and the
American Law Institute/Continuing Legal Education (ALI/CLE) for the ALI/CLE Legal Issues in Museum
Administration conference in Chicago, Illinois, April 10 – 12, 2013.
42
standards. 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 guidelines and recommendations set forth in these documents, we
accomplished the following: relocated the Art Department and the 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).
Instituting change in a university is a long and complicated process. Through the
duration of this project, I have gained knowledge and experience in collections
management and industry practices; however, I have also gained valuable experience in
university practices and procedures - including the challenges associated with instituting
new policy, departmental and administrative negotiations in navigating budgets, time and
space demands and even personalities. As a professional moving forward, this education
and experience is invaluable.
My project made significant progress from start to finish. From uncovering the art
collection in a closet with a water heater amongst many other locations, to securing and
43
inventorying it in a temporary storage facility, the art collection is once again being
recognized as a valuable resource for the university.
Recommendations: A professional collections manager/registrar is needed to develop
and lead a stewardship program that will benefit the university as the comprehensive
resource for both scholars and the community. It is also imperative that the proposed
Sacramento State Interim ARTS Collection Management Policy (Appendix J) be
instituted to further serve as a guideline for this project.
A professional stewardship program is necessary to secure, manage and develop a
university-wide collection with a stewardship program based on industry standards in
collections management and archival/museum storage. A university-wide collection will
encompass all of the collections of a material and visual culture on-campus with a
common digital registration system, retrievable to all departments for interdisciplinary
studies, and ultimately, available to the public. Once a stewardship program is
established, including properly securing and storing the collections in a museum-standard
repository, creating a professional level university collections manager/registrar position
with appropriate support, establishing an accession/deaccession committee, instituting a
permanent collections management policy, and funding conservation, preservation and
restoration in an on-going basis, the collection can be further developed and utilized as an
educational resource and a development tool. Making it available for education, both at
the collegiate and community level will also allow the university to build another bridge
as a resource for exhibition, research and community service and ultimately, to make a
public collection available.